


Tune As Old As Song

by mrfreddyjones



Series: Thallen Fall Week 2015 [7]
Category: (Referenced) The OC, Arrow (TV 2012), Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, thallenfallweek2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 09:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5122859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrfreddyjones/pseuds/mrfreddyjones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’d kill him even more to see the pity in her eyes. Those eyes where he thought he’d seen love, but not the kind of love he’d hoped to see. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t hide. She was coming his way and he had to do something – so he turned to his side and asked the first person he saw: “Would you mind being my boyfriend for five minutes?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i. eddie

**Author's Note:**

> Based on my favorite book, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, by David Levithan & Rachel Cohn.  
> Written for day seven of Thallen Fall Week, November 1: Fake Dating/Fake Marriage AU. I’ve chosen Fake Dating.  
> Title from the song Tale As Old As Time, from Beauty And The Beast

The bright lights flashed on the stage, the music pulsing through their veins. It was a high, in a way, how the crowd moved as one, lost in the moment, and knowing that _they_ were responsible for it – _they_ were the ones making the crowd move. An all-bisexual queercore band, they’d already been Riot Radio, After Hours, Silvery Sleds, and Very Loud. No matter the name, though, they were always the same – they were always the lightning bolt that set the night on fire. The night was _alive_ , because of them. Sarah, on the electric guitar, was banging her head, blonde hair going _everywhere_ , and Tommy was half-assing the drums while simultaneously eye-fucking a guy a few feet away from the stage. On the vocals, Eddie Thawne, his hair a carefully designed mess, hands gripping the microphone like a lifeline, and sweat dripping out of every pore. Three young adults, with not much in common other than their passion for music and the fact that each of them had had a rough time in life, and come to Central City looking for a new home. There used to be four of them, but Sarah fucked their bassist, Nyssa, and the breakup had been less-than-friendly. Eddie leans forward, pouring his soul out on a punk cover of Whitney Houston’s _I Will Always Love You_. “Bitter sweet memories/That is all I'm taking with me/So goodbye, please, don't cry” he cries out into the night, and he’s singing for her – safe in the knowledge that she isn’t there. She can’t hear him. That’s his one escape.

Except she is. He sees her from the stage and his heart stops for a moment – he remembers that dreadful night, the night both of them cried and went their separate ways. “Will you marry me?” he’d asked her, and she replied with “I think we should see other people”. She said they were moving too fast, she wasn’t ready, and he respected that. She said they couldn’t just go back to how things were, not with this on the table now. Eddie wanted to get married, to start a family, and Iris… Iris didn’t. She’d been very nice about it all, which had somehow been worse. And now, she was here, at the one place he'd asked her not to be – there were plenty of other bands she could go see, bands with lead-singers who wouldn’t fall apart at the sight of her. She’d told him she wouldn’t come, and it wasn’t a lie, but somewhere down the road it became one. 

The final notes played, Eddie couldn’t get his eyes off of Iris, and it was killing him. They’d been over for almost a month – three weeks, two days, and twenty-three hours, to be exact – and Eddie wasn’t over it. It had been the last song on their set, and the blonde was dreading every second after that, because now that they’d seen each other, Iris would want to come and talk to him. She’d want to say _Hello_ , and _good show_ , and – God, would she? – _How are you doing?_ This last one would kill him the most. “We’re Middle Management, thank you!” He shouted, almost mechanically. Everything felt different now, the seconds dragging away. As he made his way through the crowd, it felt like the world was moving but he was standing still. It felt like it had been this way his entire life, it felt like it’d be this way forevermore. She was coming his way and she’d see him. She’d see how broken he still is, and it’d kill him even more to see the pity in her eyes. Those eyes where he thought he’d seen love, but not the kind of love he’d hoped to see. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t hide. She was coming his way and he had to do something – so he turned to his side and asked the first person he saw: “Would you mind being my boyfriend for five minutes?”


	2. ii. barry

The slender young man stood awkwardly in the middle of the crowd. Caitlin and Cisco had nearly dragged him out to the club – “You spend all your time in this lab,” they’d told him, as if those two little nerds had ground to stand on this subject. “Come on, it’s not going to kill you to have some fun!” – and then promptly disappeared into the night. Cisco had gone somewhere towards the bar, and Caitlin had run into her on-again-off-again boyfriend, a young Hyde/Jerkyll who existed somewhere between hopeless romantic and Fratboy McDoucheface, depending on the day and the position of the stars. The music was a riscky choice (as if anyone could top Whitney Houston’s version), but the guys were good. Of course, just because the guys were good, it didn’t mean Barry wanted to be Pretty Boy’s five-minute boyfriend like some 7-Eleven quick stop on his slut train – no matter how pretty or talented the stranger was.

Still, it might be his best move. Because, while he can’t see his friends, he can see Iris coming his way for some reason – the reason probably being that she wants to pretend like he didn’t tell her that he was in love with her, and that she didn’t reply with a laugh and “that’s a joke, right?” before she realized that no, it wasn’t, and yes, he knew it was fucked up. The reason probably being that she wanted her best-friend, her _brother_ back, even though he didn’t really know how to be around her right now. The reason probably being because she could tell he was lonely and uncomfortable and even though things were weird between them right now she’d find a way to stick around because that’s just the kind of girl that Iris is. And here he was, alone and stranded on a nightclub, with no way of getting home, about to be thrown into a world of awkward with Iris. So, when the handsome stranger asked him to be his boyfriend for five minutes, he saw an opportunity – if he played his cards right he could get away from Iris, get a ride home, _and_ get a chance to make out with Pretty Boy.  A cover of Abba’s _Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!_ is playing now, _but there's nothing there to see, no one in sight/there's not a soul out there/no one to hear my prayer_ , and Barry wonders if that’s ironic or not. She’s getting closer now, and he’s got to think fast. “Give me a ride home” he replies, looking into those deep blue eyes, bargaining, and he’s surprised to find that Pretty Boy seems to be relieved to have an excuse to leave. They stare at each other silently for a few moments, until Pretty Boy nods. “Deal”

With a grin, the mysterious blonde leans forward, pressing his lips to Barry’s, and fuck, the entire world freezes right then and there. His mouth tastes like sunlight and strawberry bubblegum, that five-o’clock stubble Barry hadn’t noticed before is scratching his face oh-so-nicely, and when those large (and surprisingly gentle) hands come up to cup his cheeks, he could melt right then and there. As if that weren’t enough, the cover of Abba’s _Gimme! Gimme! Gimme_ has turned out to be a mash-up with Sixpence None The Richer’s _Kiss Me_ , and Barry decides right and there that the universe has a twisted sense of humor.

Of course, the clock starts ticking again and the world starts moving with a surprised gasp and Iris’ voice. “Eddie? Barry? How do you two know each other?!”


	3. iii. iris

There’s a new club in town, a branch of Oliver Queen’s _Verdant_ , this one run by his sister Thea, and because the Queens are very influential and filthy rich, her boss had her come over and cover the grand opening. So she came, despite her instincts telling her not to, and that she’d promised Eddie she’d keep her distance. “It’s a big club” she’d told herself. “He probably won’t even see me”, she thought, but he did, and it was as awkward as she’d expected it would be. His face fell, halfway through the song she _knew_ was for her – the last time she saw them perform, under the name Speed If Sound, their set included songs like Debbie Gibson’s _Lost In Your Eyes_ and Minnie Riperton’s _Lovin’ You_ , but now it was more KC & The Sunshine Band’s _Please Don’t Go_ and New Edition’s _Is This The End_.

When the set was over, and _Middle Management_ moved to make way for another band – _Where’s Fluffy¸_ who apparently had a secret concert on Verdant next – she took a deep breath, preparing to the inevitable awkward conversation. When she turned to walk towards wherever Eddie was going, the woman stopped on her tracks for a moment. Barry. _Of course_ Barry was there. Great. Her ex who proposed to her, and her not-really-brother who declared his love for her on Christmas. What was it with people and great romantic gestures in Central City? She finished off her drink in one long swig, not that she should be drinking, what with being there for work and all, but fuck it, her life was apparently a soap opera, so she had the right.

But then it got crazier, and the two of them were kissing (why?) and for a moment, Iris didn’t have words. And when she did, they came out as a bit of a shriek, confused, but apparently not as confused as them. Barry went pale as realization dawned upon him, and Eddie’s eyes bulged in a way that would’ve been comic if it hadn’t been so… weird. Not that she had anything against guys making out, no sir, her internet search history was proof enough that Iris West was a feminist through and through, who believed that if men could get their rocks off to two ladies making out then women, too, had the right to enjoy two guys going at it. But this was different, this was her ex (who was clearly not over her), and her adoptive brother (who, apparently, read way too much into the Ryan Atwood/Seth Cohen fanfiction she used to write when they were teens).

“We met…” Barry tried to reply, choking on his words and picking at his fingers like he used to when they were kids. She could see the panic on his eyes.

“We met at a concert” Eddie jumped in, wrapping his arm around Barry’s shoulder, pulling her brother against his chest, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. The words sounded desperate, like he was trying too hard.

“A concert?” She raises an eyebrow, glancing between the two of them. “When?”

“Last week-” Eddie says, and it’s a lie, and she would’ve known even if Barry hadn’t jumped in with “Three days ago” at the same time and the two hadn’t glared at each other for a second. _Where’s Fluffy_ is now playing a cover of The Smiths’ _How Soon Is Now,_ and Iris just stares at them silently, waiting for them to get their story straight. “Three days ago” Eddie smiles, licking his lips, and she can’t tell if he’s testing the waters, or just trying to find the taste of Barry again.

“Which was last week” Barry shrugs, shoving both hands awkwardly on his pockets.

“Weren’t you in Starling City three days ago?” Iris crossed her arms over her chest, lips curling into a slight smile despite the weirdness of it all. She wants to see how far she can push this.

“Y-yeah, well- _Eddie-_ ” Barry takes a hand out of his pocket, playfully slapping her ex-boyfriend’s chest “-here was in Starling too! The _Middle Mans_ -”

“ _Middle Management_ ” Eddie corrects him, and Barry’s cheeks grow redder at that.

“-I knew that!” He forces a chuckle, and Iris can’t help but shake her head, amused.

“We were in town looking for Nyssa” Eddie weights in, and Barry nods thoughtfully as if he knew what the blonde was talking about.

“And for a concert” Barry finishes.

“And for a concert” Eddie echoes. 


	4. iv. cisco & tommy

As soon as their set is over, Tommy practically jumps off the stage, making his way to the long haired guy he’d been exchanging stares with all night. Cisco, as the stranger introduced himself, turned out to a really great kisser, and open for a lot more than just kissing, so they agreed to find their friends and let them know they’d be heading off early, back to Tommy’s place. Finding their friends went over easier than they expected, however, when both men turned out to be at the same place, talking to a woman. “ _Heeey_ ” Tommy called, a bit too loud, easily heard over the band’s cover of Alphaville’s _Forever Young._ “Eddieeeee”

Meanwhile, Cisco came at Barry with two open arms, and the brunette barely had time to turn around before being captured in a tight hug. “I’m getting lucky tonight, Bar” he grinned, also anything but discreet. Eddie and Barry exchanged a glance, while Iris tried to hold back a laugh, and as if on cue, Tommy and Cisco recognized the woman.

“Iriiiiiiis” they called, simultaneously, then stopped for a second, and asked: “How’d you know him?” pointing at each other.

“Mutual friends,” she answered, with a small shrug, pointing at both Barry and Eddie. Both Cisco and Tommy were far too drunk to notice the palpable awkwardness between the trio, and Barry and Eddie decided to use that on their favor.

“Well, we’re heading off too-” Barry glanced at Eddie, trying to silently communicate his need to be literally anywhere else.

Eddie seemed to get the picture, thankfully, seeing that he replied with “Yeah, we should- we should go. We got that- thing that we-”

“Yooooou’re gonna get laaaaid, broooooo” Cisco dug a finger into Barry’s chest, a filthy grin on his face. “Finally! Maybe now he’ll be more fun to work with” he whisper-shouted to Tommy, who simply gave him a thumbs-up.

Again, none of them seemed to notice the way Barry and Eddie both blushed violently at that, or how Iris choked out another laugh. “Thanks… Cisco. For advertising that”

Goodbyes were said in a very rushed way, both Eddie and Barry choking on their words and trying as fast as possible to just leave, not that Cisco or Tommy would’ve noticed – they were too busy sucking face to the sound of Where’s Fluffy’s cover of Cat Steven’s _Wild World,_ now _._

“Bye guys” Iris waved awkwardly as the four of them walked away, finally.

“Bye Iris” the four called over their shoulder as they made their way to the door.

“Wait, aren’t you Iris’ boyfriend?” Cisco asked, furrowing his brows as he finally made the connection, but completely missing the way Eddie’s face fell at the question.

“Not anymore” the blonde replied, and the sound of his voice alone was enough to break Barry’s heart – there was something so broken on there. Of course, that went right over Cisco’s drunk head.

Instead, the long-haired man’s eyes bulged as he turned to Barry. “DUDE”

Barry sighed.

“Oh my _God_ , you guys!” A woman’s voice came from right behind them. “You’re not gonna _believe_ what Ronnie did!” 


	5. v. caitlin & ronnie & linda

Barry closed his eyes, hissing under his breath. He was _so close_. “Caitlin,” he turned around, and Eddie was surprised at how quickly his frown had turned into a supportive smile for the angry redhead. “Hi”

“Hi. You are not going to _believe_ what that insensitive jerk did! I’m never going to-” she stopped mid-sentence, turning to Eddie. “Hey, aren’t you Iris’ guy?”

Eddie opened his mouth to say something, but before he had a chance to deny it, Cisco was on it. “No, he’s with Barry now” he said, making a face which he probably thought meant he was being secretive, as he wrapped an arm around each of the men, pulling them closer.

“Oh.” Caitling said, and then: “OH. Barry!”

Barry sighed. “It’s not- It’s not like that” he said, sounding mostly tired. He knew very well his friends wouldn’t let him get away with this, even though this was just a misunderstanding.

“Hey, no judging” Caitlin raised both hands, a sly smirk playing her lips. “Maybe I should steal Ronnie’s girlfriend, teach him a lesson”

That made both Barry and Cisco lean forward. “Ronnie’s _what_?”

Eddie raised his hand, visibly confused.  “Ronnie?”

“Ronnie’s her boyfriend” Barry explained, waving a hand as if the gesture would explain everything.

“Apparently not only hers” Cisco added his two cents, with a short laugh

“Honey, no” Tommy leaned forward, face between Barry’s and Cisco’s, to whisper, his booze breath making the taller scientist cough, which for some reason made Eddie laugh a bit.

“He’s fucking Linda” Caitling practically barked, drawing all the attention back to herself. “Linda. They’re, like, _cousins_! Barry, what is it with guys and incest? I mean, _really-_ ”

Eddie turned to Barry, visibly confused again.

“I’m not-” he shook his head, turning to Eddie. “I’m adopted, and we were both already grown when they took me in-”

“Babe!” Ronnie’s voice cut through the music – a cover of Taylor Swift’s _Bad Blood_. “Babe, come on! We never said anything about going exclusive!”

Caitlin turned around on her heels, glaring daggers at her not-boyfriend. “Are you _fucking_ kidding me?”

“It didn’t mean anything!” Ronnie tried again, reaching out for her. “Babe, come on, it was just sex”

“Just sex?” she narrowed her eyes. “Fine. Then I’ll _just_ have sex with Barry”

“Hey” Eddie stepped forward, for some reason feeling the urge to step in at the mention of his (fake) boyfriend. “He’s with me!”

Ronnie’s brows furrowed at that. “Aren’t you Iris’ guy?” Then his eyes widened as it dawned on him. “Oh shit! Dude!” A huge grin on his face. “Way to go, man! Double duty!”

Caitlin groaned, rolling her eyes. “You’re unbelievable!”

“What?” Ronnie made a face, raising his arms in a pose that almost looked like he was surrendering. “Babe, I just mean-”

“Caitlin?” Linda stormed towards them. “Get your hands away from my boyfriend!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, don’t you mean your _cousin with benefits_?” The redhead shouted, turning to the woman with fire in her eyes.

“Ladieees, ladieees,” Cisco stumbled forward, trying to place himself between the two of them. “Calm down! This isn’t on either of you! Riiiight Tommy?”

Tommy, like a true performer, took his cue and ran with it. “Right, Cisco! Neither of you knew he was seeing the other, right?” Both women nodded. “See?”

“Girls,” Cisco grinned a diabolical grin. “Have you ever seen _John Tucker Must Die_?”

In the middle of the confusion, Barry and Eddie managed to slip away from the club. 


	6. vi. snart

“You know, you guys really need a bassist.” Barry said, hands shoved deep in his pockets, seeking refuge from the cold as they walked by the side of the club on the mirror blue night. “I get the whole _neo-punk_ thing, but come on, even the Sex Pistols had a bassist”

Eddie chuckled at that. “We did have one. And she was really good, too” he said, fondly. “Nyssa. She and Sarah were dating, but then they broke up and… well, we no longer have a bassist”

Barry seemed to think for a moment once they finally reached the car – an old, beat up Yugo. “So you’re ABBA” Eddie snorted, pulling the door open and holding it for Barry, an action that caused the other’s heart to skip a beat. _Who does that in real life?_ He thought. “Speaking of, a punk cover of _The Winner Takes It All_ was a bold choice.” The blonde grinned, blushing slightly. It felt like a compliment, so he decided to take it like that. “Would’ve been better if you had a bassist, though” Barry teased.

They laughed, but once they were both in the car, the silence sat awkwardly for a while, the sounds of Celine Dion’s _To Love You More_ coming from the club hanging in the air. Almost an entire minute went by until Eddie turned to Barry. He was about to say something when  there was a knock on the passenger window, a man with a buzz cut and a leather jacket, halfway through a cigarette. Barry seemed to know him, but didn’t seem too happy about the encounter. “Barry Allen!” The stranger called, once Barry had, for some reason, lowered the window.

“Snart” the brunette replied, bitterly.

“Why so _cold_ , Barry?” Snart grinned, blowing his smoke right at the man’s face, making Barry cough. “Didn’t you miss me?”

“Everything okay?” Eddie decided to join the conversation, narrowing his eyes at the stranger. Something was off.

“Who’s that?” the man outside asked Barry instead, completely ignoring the blonde's question. “Me 2.0?”

Barry was frozen on his sit, angrier than he’d ever been. He remembers those nights, back in high school, he spent crying over Leonard Snart, and how he never seemed to be good enough. He remembers a night when Iris had her hand gently pressed against his back, soothingly rubbing circles over his shirt, telling him he was too good for Snart, and that he didn’t have to change. That one day he’d meet someone who’d love him just as he was, and who’d appreciate him and treat him right. He didn’t believe her back then, and being with Snart seemed like a better option than being alone, since being with Snart meant not thinking about being with her, and now, years later, he regrets their time together more than anything in his life – from the scar he has on his shoulder, forever reminding him of when Snart crashed the car Joe had just given him for his birthday, almost killing him in the process, to the way he let this asshole boss him around for over a year.

 “Eddie!” Iris calls, running down the sidewalk. She’s waving, as if signaling him to wait for her, and when she arrives at the car, the animosity between her and the guy Eddie has gathered must be Barry’s ex is palpable. “Snart.” She says, coldly.

Snart ignores her, too. “Say, Barry Boy, what about ditching these losers and coming in with me? It’ll be fun”

“Go to hell” Barry replies, voice strained, dripping with venom. “And stay there this time”

Snart glares for a moment, and Eddie worries he might have to get in a fight, but then the man is stepping back, hamds raised in surrender. “Whatever, _Flash_ ” he grins. “I need someone who lasts more than a few seconds anyways”


	7. vii. iris

As Snart walks away, the woman makes her way to where he stood moments before, leaning into the passenger window, reaching for Barry’s hand. “You okay, Bar?” She asks, softly.

The awkwardness from before isn’t there. It isn’t uncomfortable, or complicated. In that moment, they’re just Barry and Iris, best friends. She can tell Barry is angry, she can tell he’s _furious_ , crash landing at memory lane. But he squeezes her hand, and offers a bit of a weak smile. “Yeah,” he says. “Yeah. Snart’s an asshole.”

“Yeah, he is” she nods, and then turns to Eddie, who was watching everything with bright blue eyes wide in awe. He has that look on his face, the one he usually had when they went for breakfast dates on Wednesdays and saw old couples having pancakes together. Like he’s witnessing something magical, like being there to see this is a privilege, and she smiles at him, and at the way he doesn’t just wear his heart on his sleeve – he wears it _all over_. “Can I talk to you for a bit, Eddie?”

The blonde nods, stepping out of the car, and his eyes have turned into that puppy-like stare he had when he was trying to not feel hopeful. They walk over to the wall, and she wonders if she can touch him – if it’d be okay for her to place a hand on his shoulder, or if it’d hurt too much. “You guys should go out”. The way Eddie’s brows furrow are almost comical. “You and Barry.”

He opens his mouth to say something, but all that comes out is a confused sound. It’s kind of adorable.

“I’m serious. You’re both great guys, you both want the same things- I mean, yeah, you both want the same things _with me_ , but-” she shakes her head. “You’d be good for each other. And I want you to be happy. Both of you.”

Eddie opens his mouth again, but no sound comes out this time. He stays silent for a moment, and something shifts in his eyes – something clicks. Like, after all this time, he’s finally breaking up with her, too. And he seems lighter, somehow. There’s a soft smile on his lips, and he nods. “Okay. Yeah. Maybe.” She smiles, and doesn’t think before rubbing a hand gently against his arm. “Thank you, Iris”

The song coming from the club is now a Green Day cover, _Time Of Your Life_ , with a mixed sample of Michael Jackson moaning about how _Billie Jean is not my lover / the kid is not my son_ thrown into the groove. How is that possible and why does it sound so damn good is beyond any of them. Eddie makes his way back to the car, and Iris moves so she’s standing at the passenger window once again. “Bye, Barry” she says, softly, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. “Call me, okay?”

He nods, and Eddie starts the car. Iris steps back and watches them leave.


	8. viii. barry & eddie

The day begins in the middle of the night, and he isn’t paying attention to anything but the bass in his hand. Tommy is screaming, and Sarah is flailing, and he is the clockwork. He’s sweating under the spotlight, and even though everything is a blur, he can feel the eyes on him. Cisco, Caitlin, Iris. They all came to see him, to see _them_. To watch Barry Allen take this thing called music and line it up with this thing called time. They’re performing an original song, one he and Eddie wrote together.

It’s been a year since they first met. A year since they first kissed. A year since they sat on that beat up yugo, listening to an all-punk band tribute album to the Spice Girls. They’re performing on Verdant, back from a tour of Starling – Gothan – Coast City – Metropolis, and they finally got a deal for a record.

Their set is coming to an end, and those beautiful blue eyes come into his line of vision, grounding him, pulling him back to the reality of it all. He’s flooded with emotion, falling into himself and the world is no longer frozen. “And it might be crazy / But I love you, maybe / the world stops and I’m running / the world’s frozen and I’m burning”. Eddie is smiling at him, pulling him to the front of the stage, hand hot and tight on his shoulder. “Hard to find a good friend / there’s no such thing as coincidence / you reminded me of my destiny / I’m a hero after all”. The concert normally ends with a kiss, Eddie can’t help but finish the song the same way he did the first time they performed it, but this time there’s something else.

The blonde pulls back with a smile, his blue eyes staring deeply into Barry’s hazel ones. “Thanks everybody, we’re the Speed Force, and before we’re done there’s something I gotta say”. And then the world is frozen again, and racing again, because Eddie is getting down in one knee, and smiling like a child, and it’s so fitting that they’re on Verdant right now, where all of this started. “A year ago I asked you to be my boyfriend for five minutes,” he says, into the microphone, and the crowd goes silent, but neither of them notices – neither of them even remembers there’s a crowd. “And you’ve given me more than- fuck, more than I ever thought I’d have. So now, now I want to return the favor, and spend- Spend the rest of my life making you just as happy as you’ve made me. Barry Allen, will you marry me?”

They’re both crying. They’re both laughing.

“Yes”

The crowd erupts in cheer. 


End file.
